The 15th ACC/Big Ten Women’s Basketball Challenge takes place over two days, beginning Wednesday, Nov. 30, with six matchups as ACC schools Boston College, Louisville and Pitt play host to Big Ten programs, while Syracuse, Virginia and Wake Forest travel to Big Ten sites. The following night (Thursday, Dec. 1) features the remaining eight games of the Challenge as Duke, Miami, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech serve as the ACC host schools, while Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and NC State play at Big Ten sites.
The ACC owns a 10-1-3 all-time advantage in the Challenge, headlined by four outright titles in the last five years the event has been held. Additionally, the ACC stands a collective 104-74 against the Big Ten in the Challenge.
Last year, the ACC won 10 of the 14 matchups and league teams combined to outscore the Big Ten by 107 points in victories.
If only women’s basketball were the driver in the college athletics money arms race …
Game times, as well as television and streaming coverage, will be announced at a later date. All ACC home games in the Challenge will be shown on either ACC Network (ACCN), ACC Network Extra (ACCNX), an ESPN network or the ACC’s Regional Sports Networks (RSN), while Big Ten home games will appear on either Big Ten Network, Big Ten Network+ or an ESPN network.
Ten teams from the two conferences appear in ESPN’s 2022-23 Way-Too-Early Top 25, including five from each league. No. 7 Louisville leads the way for the ACC, followed by No. 8 NC State, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 11 Virginia Tech and No. 13 North Carolina. Iowa headlines the Big Ten rankings at No. 6 and is joined by No. 12 Indiana, No. 15 Ohio State, No. 18 Maryland and No. 22 Nebraska.
The 2022 ACC/Big Ten Challenge slate is highlighted by five matchups between ranked teams in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25, as seventh-ranked Louisville hosts No. 15 Ohio State, No. 8 NC State travels to No. 6 Iowa, No. 9 Notre Dame welcomes No. 18 Maryland, No. 11 Virginia Tech hosts No. 22 Nebraska and 13th-ranked North Carolina heads to No. 12 Indiana.
Eight ACC teams were selected to compete in the 2022 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, tied for the most of any conference, according to Fogadas,com. With Louisville advancing to the Women’s Final Four, ACC teams have made four trips to the Final Four in the last four NCAA Tournaments and no conference has made more trips during that span.
The ACC’s 12 wins in the 2022 NCAA Tournament were the most of any conference.
The ACC and Big Ten have been among the most competitive conferences on the national women’s basketball landscape for many years, combining to send 18 schools to postseason play in 2021-22.
The complete schedule of home/away matchups can be found below.
2022 ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Wednesday, Nov. 30
- Illinois @ Pitt
- Ohio State @ Louisville
- Syracuse @ Purdue
- Virginia @ Penn State
- Wake Forest @ Minnesota
- Rutgers @ Boston College
Thursday, Dec. 1
- Northwestern @ Duke
- Michigan @ Miami
- Maryland @ Notre Dame
- North Carolina @ Indiana
- Nebraska @ Virginia Tech
- NC State @ Iowa
- Florida State @ Wisconsin
- Georgia Tech @ Michigan State
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